The Most Wonderful Time (Of The Year)
by GwenBrightly
Summary: The ninja are celebrating their first holiday season in the monastery. It goes about as smoothly as you'd expect. First up, decorating is full of mayhem and Kai is (as always) a trouble maker.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: Ahhh, hey everyone! It's... been... awhile, haha. This past quarter was really rough on me and kinda killed my motivation for a lot of things, like writing... But! I'm slowly getting back into the swing of things just in time for Christmas so! I'm really excited to be posting my first holiday fic of the year! Had a lot of fun writing this backstage while kiddos read over my shoulder heheh... Decorations and Mayhem takes place sometime following MOTO, though I haven't yet decided if s11 has happened yet (waiting to see how the rest of my Christmas writing plays out). Anyway, I hope you enjoy!**

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"Let's see what everyone was able to snag for the monastery," Lloyd suggested enthusiastically. Having never celebrated Christmas in the monastery of spinjitzu before, the ninja had been horrified to discover that Wu hadn't thought to invest in decorations for the holiday season. Not prone to giving up easily, they had spent several days searching high and low for trees, wreaths, lights, and anything else they could get their hands on.

"Ma and pa sent some lights they swear still work properly. Left most of em outside. There's also a bunch of garlands that look like they're in pretty decent shape. Perks of living in a junkyard, I guess. And uh, I think this used to be an angel?" Jay stated, holding up a sparkly hunk of metal with appendages shaped vaguely like wings. He glanced sideways at it, trying to decide if it was worth keeping.

"I… can try to fix it later, if you want?" offered Kai, "I got a lot of practice with metalworking while Nya and I were visiting mom and dad yesterday. And the whole remaking the Golden Weapons thing probably helps too, heheh."

His sister rolled her eyes at his self satisfied smirk. Jay nodded, handing Kai the mangled decoration.

"If you think she's savable, go for it!"

"Speaking of mom and dad, they gave us a box of Christmas ornaments and some other stuff, too." Nya added holding up the blue orb with swirly designs she'd just grabbed from the uppermost layer of the cardboard box she was kneeling next to.

"We couldda brought some tinsel, too, but we decided it wouldn't be a good idea after last year…" she continued. They all shuddered.

"Dad convinced the tree farm that sponsors the Royal Blacksmiths to sell him a tree for super cheap. He said he'd drop it off in a little bit." Cole informed them, not wanting to dwell on the incident.

"Dude! That's awesome!" Exclaimed Lloyd, his eyes lighting up. The others smiled. They'd never been able to have a live tree before. Zane nodded in agreement.

"Indeed. I'm sure it will look lovely in the living room. I managed to locate a wreath my father built. It's made mostly from old gears, and I know that's not very traditional, but I'd like to put it up somewhere. If you don't mind?"

"Of course, Zane. I'm sure we can find a good place for it." Cole assured his friend. He understood what it was like to miss a family member during this time of year.

"Yeah. I mean this place is _huge. _We need all the decorations we can get!" Kai reminded them.

"We had better get started, then." Pixal interjected, eager to finally be celebrating the holidays without being confined to a screen (or her wonderful soulmate's head) this year.

"Heck yeah! So where should we start?" asked Nya. They glanced around at the heaps of miscellaneous decorations, considering their options.

"Maybe we should tackle the lights outside first? I'd rather do that before it gets too cold out." proposed Jay. Although it had not yet snowed, the weather had been growing increasingly colder.

"I vote yes to that idea. It's usually better to test anything the Walkers give us as soon as possible to avoid unnecessary explosions. No offense, Jay." Cole said, giving the master of lightning an apologetic grin. Jay punched his shoulder lightly.

"None taken. We _do _tend to end up with... Surprises pretty often when ma and pa gift us stuff."

"Okay, then. Outside it is. Just… try to keep the dangerous hijinks to a minimum? I don't wanna worry Uncle Wu." Lloyd told them, heading for the front door.

The next hour was spent watching Jay zap each strand of lights or light up decoration with his powers as he tested them to see if they worked, waiting for the inevitable explosion. Surprisingly, they made it through 5 whole strands, two light up snowman, and a reindeer before coming across their first exploding decoration. No one could be sure if the shattering of every single bulb on the rainbow strand of lights was due to Jay's parents tampering with the wires, or the master of lightning himself sending too much electricity into it, but the display of rainbow colored shards flying through the air was impressive to say the least. After cleaning up their mess and testing the remaining decorations, the group began the actual decorating part of the process. Pixal and Zane wrapped lights around the columns that lined the entrance to the monastery, creating elaborate patterns. Cole and Jay worked together to lift an ornate sleigh complete with reindeer onto the roof via airjitzu. Meanwhile, Nya simply tried to keep Lloyd and Kai from killing each other with additional decorations. Seeing her brother wrap the green ninja in lights, she cried, "Kai _no!"_ in exasperation.

"Cmon, sis! You've gotta admit he'd make a great Christmas tree!" He defended, before launching into singing _oh Lloydie tree, oh Lloydie tree, how lovely are your branches! _And receiving dirty looks from his victim.

"Listen to Nya, Kai." Cole shouted from above them. The master of fire relented, muttering about how no one appreciated his brilliance as he unwound his brother. Their hard work was interrupted by the sounds of a (much less irritating) Christmas carol floating into the courtyard from just beyond the gate.

"_We wish you a merry Christmas, we wish you a merry Christmas, we wish you a merry Christmas and a happy new year!"_ Sang Lou and his quartet as they lugged a ginormous tree inside.

"Hey, pop!" Cole greeted. He left the lofty heights of the roof, followed by Jay.

"Hello, son! You're doing a lovely job with this place!"

"Thanks!" Jay said, "You just missed the explosion!"

"… The what?" Lou started.

"So, how was your drive?" Cole inquired, cutting him off. His father gave him a strange look, but didn't push the topic further.

"It was fine. Building that driveway was a wonderful idea. I can't imagine how much of a hassle it would've been to carry this thing up so many steps." he answered.

"It really has made life easier for all of us." Zane agreed.

"This tree is beautiful! Thank you so much for hooking us up!" Added Lloyd, staring admiringly at their

"It was no trouble, Lloyd." Lou told him, smiling warmly.

"Wanna come inside for some hot cocoa? We were about ready to take a break anyway." offered Cole.

"I would love to, but unfortunately we need to get going. We have a concert at the hospital to attend. Can't disappoint the kids, you know." the older man replied regretfully. The master of earth shrugged. Christmas was always a busy time for the Royal Blacksmiths.

"Okay. Next time, then. Break a leg, and thanks again!"

"Goodbye son!" Lou called as his companions burst into sing again.

"_Now bring us some figgy pudding, now bring us some figgy pudding, now bring us some figgy pudding and bring some right here!"_

"What even is figgy pudding?" Lloyd wondered aloud.

"No clue." Kai shrugged.

"Let's get this bad boy inside." Prompted Jay, rubbing his hands together and grinning in a way that was only a little bit maniacal. It took a fair amount of maneuvering, but they eventually managed to get the tree situated in the living room.

"Wow, I hope we have enough ornaments for this thing." Nya commented. The tree looked even bigger now that it was upright.

"We'll think of something if we don't. Maybe we can just put Jay to work making paper snowflakes again." Lloyd plotted.

"I'm down for that. I don't get why you guys think I'm the only one who's deserving of this honor, though." said Jay. He had never quite understood why the others were so fascinated by his ability to make paper snowflakes with such ease.

"Because you're _better _at it than we are and we like the way they look." Nya stated simply, hanging the ornament she'd discovered earlier on the tree. Jay leaned over and kissed her cheek.

"Thanks, sweetie."

Kai rolled his eyes at them and set about digging through the boxes looking for more ornaments. He pulled out anything that looked like it was still functional, tossing a few broken ones into the garbage.

"This one is neat!"

"Oooh shiny!" Lloyd noted. He snatched the ornament from Kai before he could protest. The master of fire decided it wasn't worth fighting and returned to his rummaging. Kai managed to protect a few of the ornaments from Lloyd's watchful eye, sneaking them onto the tree when he wasn't looking.

"Wait… how did that get there?" Lloyd asked, finally noticing one of the extra sparkly ornaments Kai had hidden from him.

"I swear Lloyd, you're as bad as a cat when you get like this." Nya told him, stifling a smile.

"Like what?" he replied innocently. Cole watched Lloyd stare longingly at another ornament.

"All _oooh shiny _every time you see something cool."

"Nah, I'm pretty sure that stems from having a dragon for a grandmother." Lloyd reminded them.

"Hmmm that's a good point." Confirmed Zane.

"Kai, I am almost completely certain that Santa was not intended to be a part of this nativity!" Pixal scolded, frantically trying to prevent the master of fire from ruining the decoration he was currently setting out on the mantle.

"Well, he is now!" Kai retorted, not caring about historical accuracy. Pixal sighed loudly.

"Can we at least discuss fixing the sheep so they don't look like they're fighting to the death?"

"Gee, Pix! It's not like they're real," he reminded her indignantly before smiling a devious smile, "Hmmm I should add one of Lloyd's dragon figurines..."

"Kai _no! _That is the most horrible idea ever." she protested, horrified.

"What _you _call horrible _I _call brilliant!"

"Okaaay maybe it's time for a break before Uncle Wu comes in here and questions our collective sanity again." Lloyd said awkwardly pushing between the irate ninja and samurai.

"There's hot cocoa in the kitchen, remember?" added Nya.

"Hmmm okay, sure. Hot cocoa does sound good." Kai admitted (totally not planning on sneaking back later to mess with the nativity some more).

"Yeah! Let's go eat way too much whipped cream and marshmallows!" agreed Jay.

"Looks like we're off to another chaotic Christmas." Lloyd commented to Nya as they headed for refreshments.

"Yeah, but you know you love it." She told him with a laugh. The blonde shrugged, saying,

"I do. Somehow this never gets old."

"That's the magic of Christmas for you. Or… something like that, anyway. Now cmon, let's get some hot coco before the others drink it all."

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**Did I take some liberties? Yes. Do I have a problem with that? No – canon is but a sandbox ; )**

**Thank you for reading this chaotic story! If you have feedback or suggestions, reviews mean the world to me! Have an amazing holiday season!**

**-GwenBrightly**


	2. Sledding

**Author's note: Well, it took a bit longer than expected to get this ready for publication, but… I already knew I was bad with timelines, hehe. But anyway! Here's another Christmasy chapter in this fic that I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing with! It was really interesting to play around with Pixal's characterization, so hopefully I did her justice. Thanks for sticking with me and my unpredictable posting schedule! I hope you enjoy!**

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"Wow." Lloyd gasped. The sparkly layer of snow covering the courtyard was even more impressive up close than it had been through his bedroom window. Kai grinned at his brother's enthusiasm. It was good to see him letting go a little.

"It's beautiful," Pixal squealed in agreement, "I've always wanted to play in the snow."

Kai raised an eyebrow.

"You've really never gotten to play in the snow before?"

"No? Father and I were always very busy at this time of year, what with all the tours and meetings and holiday parties to host... And I didn't exactly have a body with which to enjoy such things after that horrible noodle man had me dismantled. So,_ yes_, this is all very new to me." she muttered distastefully, not even bothering to refer to Chen by his name. The others glanced at each other in surprise. Pixal fit into their team so naturally that they sometimes forgot that she had missed out on many of the things they took for granted.

"_Oh. _Well. Don't worry! You have all of us here to teach you everything there is to know about having fun in the snow!" Jay told her brightly.

"We'll make sure you have a wonderful time." agreed Zane, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. Pixal brightened at this.

"So. What would you like to do first?" Nya asked. She was eager to take advantage of the clear winter day.

"I... Could we go sledding?" Pixal suggested eagerly.

"Sure! There's a nice big ledge about halfway down the mountain we can use as our launch point so we don't have to hike as far." Lloyd told them. He and Cole had gone scouting earlier, having figured sledding would come up eventually.

"Yup, right this way." Cole said, gesturing grandly for them to follow him. They exited the courtyard of the monastery, turning left once they were outside. There was a sort of trail leading down the side of the mountain, reinforced with walls of stone and dirt wherever it got too perilous, courtesy of Cole. It didn't take long for them to reach their destination.

"Would you care to do the honors, Zane?" Lloyd prompted. Pixal gave him a confused look.

"You'll see in a second." assured Jay. She watched with wide eyes as the master of ice used his powers to create elegant sleds from ice. Each one looked delicate, intricate. Perfect. She let out a soft _oh. _Christmas movies had nothing on this. Zane smiled softly at her.

"Want to go first?" he offered, holding out one of the sleds. Pixal glanced at the others. Jay gave her a thumbs up; everyone else smiled or nodded encouragingly.

"S-sure." she nervously agreed. She took the sled and climbed on. If Kai pushed her just a little bit too hard (he was still slightly salty that she wouldn't let him add Yoda to the already... unique nativity), she didn't notice. Suddenly, Pixal was flying! Down the side of the mountain she flew, the wind making a whooshing sound in her ears. The sun made the snow around her sparkle brilliantly.

"This is amazing!" she shouted to the others, who were slowly gaining on her. Although she had observed this activity from inside of Zane's head, she'd had no idea it could be this exhilarating.

"Pretty epic, right?" Nya laughed as she sped past her. Pixal was about to respond when her sled spun out of control. The rest of her descent was spend dizzily trying to regain a stable trajectory. She ultimately failed and found herself being flung face first into a snow drift when she finally reached the bottom of the mountain. The impact left her breathless.

"Pixal! Are you okay?" Zane asked worriedly, sliding to a stop not far away. Pixal flopped onto her back.

"I'm all good. Just," she spat out a mouthful of snow, "need to figure out how steer more effectively next time."

"That… would probably be wise." he said, relief tinging his voice. Trekking through the snow to her side, he soon had Pixal back on her feet. She reached up and kissed her love on the nose as a thanks.

"Let's go again!" cheered Jay, oblivious to Pixal's spill. The ninja and samurai scrambled to gather their sleds (as well as several hats that had come flying off). Up the mountain they hiked until they reached the ledge once again. Predictably, it was then that anarchy broke lose. As Lloyd launched himself down the mountain again, Kai tossed a snowball at him in an attempt to knock him off his sled.

"Rude!" the blonde called over his shoulder indignantly. The master of fire only laughed. He jumped onto his own sled and sped away. The others glanced at each other ruefully.

"I was wondering how long it'd take Kai to pull that." Nya mused.

"Poor Lloyd." commented Cole, watching the duo race down the snowy slope, screaming raucously.

"He… should be alright," Pixal assured them, "Kai's chances of hitting him at that velocity and angle aren't very high."

She'd run the numbers in her head, but decided the others probably didn't need to know exactly how unlikely it was.

"Still, we should probably get down there before they kill each other, don't you think?" asked Jay. Lloyd and Kai were almost to the bottom, now, and could just barely be heard singing a very violent rendition of Dashing Through the Snow at each other. Zane climbed onto his sled, saying, "Yes. I think we'd better."

And with that they were off. By the time they reached Kai and Lloyd, the green ninja had turned the tables on his would-be attacker. He tackled Kai to the ground.

"So cold!" the spiky haired ninja screeched as Lloyd shoved snow down the front of his coat.

"That's what you get for messing with the Green Ninja!" Lloyd teased good naturedly.

"I – _ow – _know," Kai complained as the others watched with amusement, "you can let me up now, you know."

Lloyd shrugged innocently.

"Aren't you guys gonna rescue me from this gremlin of a ninja?"

"Nope. This is way more entertaining." Nya told her brother.

"You definitely deserve this." agreed Pixal. The master of fire gaped at them. He glanced pleadingly at Cole, who shrugged.

"Awww c'mon, Lloyd. I'll give you a chocolate dipped marshmallow Santa when we get back to the monastery if you have mercy on me." he offered.

"You really think you can bribe me with candy? I'm not a kid anymore, Kai." Lloyd protested. He tried unconvincingly to hide his delight. Kai raised an eyebrow, not missing a beat.

"….. You're absolutely right. I'll take that marshmallow Santa." the Green Ninia decided, smiling giddily. He released the master of fire from his hold.

"Of course you will." Kai muttered, rolling his eyes.

"What do you all say to a nice hot cup of homemade hot coco?" Zane cut in, noting how chilled his companions looked. It was unlikely that anyone had the energy for another run, anyway.

"Ooh, yeah that sounds awesome!"

"Race you to the top of the mountain!"

"Seriously, how do you people have so much energy left?!"

Came the replies. It took them awhile to make it home that wintry afternoon, but no one complained for long when they finally got the warm beverages they'd been promised.

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**Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I did writing it! As always, reviews are a great way to provide feedback and help me grow as a writer! Readers like you are the reason I publish my work. Have a wonderful holiday season! **

**~GwenBrightly **


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